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The Nagas joyously celebrate the 75th anniversary of NNC formation today, the 2nd February, 2021 because the Naga National Council (NNC) had never deterred here and there from the Naga national stand as the Nagas are a sovereign independent nation from time immemorial though Nagaland faced ups and downs political situation in the past 75 years.
However, today the young generation of Naga has to retrospect on the past 75 years that why has the Nagas not achieved the recognition of Nagaland as a sovereign and independent nation by the world to date? Unless they do research, they won’t know what has gone wrong or who did wrong, When they come to know the mistake of the past, then only they can take the right step to march ahead for achieving the Naga national objective. For such research, I will provide some facts of the past as follow.
1) In the past 1929, the Naga leaders submitted a memorandum to the British Statutory Commission stating in no uncertain terms, that to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times and without the knowledge of Naga people, Naga territory should not be handed over to other nations.
2) Based on the memorandum, the Naga national leaders decided to declare Nagaland independence before India and Burma become independent.
Therefore, the Naga National Council was formed on 2nd February 1946, which origin is traced back to the Naga Club which was formed in 1918. With the formation of the NNC, all the sovereign republic Naga villages were brought into a nation for the first time in history. Then as preplanned, the age-old Nagaland Independence was declared on 14th August, 1947.
Since the declaration of Nagaland Independence, the NNC has been tenaciously and unflinchingly defending the sovereignty of Nagaland. The Nagas are, therefore, celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of NNC today. Why then the Naga people had not been united under the banner of NNC? Which would need to be researched by the young Naga people today. Because even on 25th January, 2021, a researcher namely; Eno Mazie Nakhro, PhD, did not mention the truth of division among the Nagas. He wrongly stated that “The Naga National Groups have been regrettably divided due to the Shillong Accord (SA) of 1975”.
3) It was happened; because after SA, Eno Thuingaleng Muivah, the then incumbent General Secretary of the NNC, wanted to pursue Suisa’s proposal, defected from the NNC on 31st January, 1980, and on the same day formed the so-called National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) along with Eno Isak and Eno Khaplang. The Nagas rejected Muivah’s socialism and Suisa’s proposal but steadfastly stood to defend the sovereignty of Nagaland under the banner of NNC. If the SA was the main reason for division, they won’t sign the Framework Agreement in August 2015 and more divisions among them after 1988 might not have happened.
4) It was the fact that, the division among the Naga national leaders began from the beginning based on a Memorandum submitted to Her Majesty Government (MHG) and the British-India Government by the NNC on March 27, 1946, which demanded for a guardian power and self-determination for a period of 10 years. Because in those days, Naga national leaders thought that the Nagas are illiterate and have no development, and therefore under the protection or guardianship of a big nation like the British or India, the Nagas have to become learned and developed people, then only we can stand as a nation.
But the Naga national leader, Phizo’s opinion differed from them. He said, the Nagas should not be subjected to other nations but should remain as a sovereign and independent nation as in ancient times and keep a unique history among the Asian nations. The Nagas should be developed as a free nation. He, therefore, rejected Couplan Plan for Crown Colony of the British or to join the Indian Union, but declared the Independence of Nagaland in the right time before neighbouring nations (India & Burma) became independent.
5) But some of the Naga leaders had kept in mind the policy of 1946 and stood for self-determination even after the declaration of Nagaland independence. As they failed to change their mind, it becomes a problem among the Nagas. But Phizo firmly stood that the Nagas are a free nation and should develop as free people. Most of the Naga people support Phizo’s policy.
6) Those leaders who had the policy of 1946, stood for self-determination ignored the declaration of Nagaland Independence, and accepted a puppet state under the Indian Union in 1960. Because the then Prime Minister of India Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, learned good Mission of Phizo to the Western Countries, hurriedly offered a Statehood to the so-called Naga People’s Convention (NPC) which was a brainchild of India. He resorted to do it, in order to internalise India’s naked aggression on Nagaland and to save the face of India and its reputation in front of the world for many crimes committed against the Nagas, and also to destroy Phizo’s achievement.
In those days, Naga national leader Phizo reached in London on 12th June, 1960 and had been informing the world the right of the Naga nation and the plights of Nagas in the hands of the Indian Army. And even submitted a memorandum to the United Nations requesting to intervene in the Indo-Naga war and solve the problem. His efforts convinced the Western countries to recognise the Naga nation. But the acceptance of Statehood by some educated Nagas hampered Phizo’s achievement. If the Nagas achieved the recognition of the world in those days of 1960s, today, Nagaland might have been developed like Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
7) Again, even after 33 years of independence declaration, some Naga leaders disregarded Nagas as an independent nation and stood for self-determination once again sine 1980, as mentioned above. The Nagas are thus facing another problem unfortunately.
The young generations of Nagas today need to ask questions such as; why did they disregard the sovereignty of Nagaland? Why did they reject the Plebiscite of 1951 in which 99.9% Naga voted to remain independent as in ancient times? What do we do to remain as an independent nation? And where do the Nagas reunite? And then take the right step to march ahead for the future of Nagaland.
First, accept the Plebiscite of Naga people as a solemn verdict and final solution for the future of Nagaland.
Secondly; to understand that the Naga nation was firmly founded on solid rock, and the Nagas have no room to talk of demanding for self-determination or a political solution from India. But just only to demand the peaceful withdrawal of foreign armed forces from Nagaland.
Thirdly; it is needed to know that for the recognition of the sovereignty of Nagaland by the world, we need to fight based on the history of Nagaland.
The history of Nagaland is the records of the NNC, without which we cannot claim history. The factional leaders can write and talk about Naga national history, but it doesn’t become a history of the NSCN, and neither can use it as a history of the NSCN and solve the Indo-Naga conflict. The history was written on the platform and board of the NNC. Therefore, whosoever went away from the NNC and formed a faction, has no history, and has no mandate either.
Fourthly; if all the Naga people/NNC unite with the faction (NSCN), that will be the end of an independent Naga nation. Because, the factional leaders stand for self-determination and none of them are defending the sovereignty of Nagaland, but just demanding self-determination and the economic package from India.
Fifthly: all Nagas have to reunite under the banner of the Naga National Council and stand on the solid foundation of Nagaland and speak in one voice and for one issue only, that is, the Nagas are a sovereign and independent nation, and march ahead to achieve our cherished goal.
Lastly; we have to know that the Independence of Nagaland is not brought from abroad by the heroes of Nagaland, but it was bestowed by God, our Lord, and handed it down to us by our ancestral fathers. Our Lord, God has a purpose for the Nagas, and even from the doom fiasco, He delivered us by stretching out His mighty hands. That’s, out of the many events, we can never forget the event of 1975. And we believe that He will continue to lead us until we reach our Canaan Land.
W. Shapwon
Joint Secretary, NNC.